You Can't Have Two Girlfriends
by ExtremeWriter
Summary: CITH Crossover. When Lilly moves to Washington, D.C., she meets Newt and falls in love with him. Newt loves her back, but before they can go out, he must dump Jessica first. To make matters worse, Jessica can't live without him. Who will Newt choose?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I noticed that a couple of people are doing HM/CITH crossovers, so I decided to give one a try, because Cory in the House is my favorite show EVER! Tell me what you think.

Lilly Truscott sat on the living room couch. She looked nervous. Her mother had just called a family meeting, and family meetings were never good news to everyone. She was relieved to see her mother with a smiling face. But she was not, however, relieved to hear why.

"Lilly," said Mrs. Truscott, "how do you feel about the size of our house?"

Lilly found this question to be a random one. "Well, I guess it is a little tiny."

"How would you like to have a bigger one?" her dad said.

Lilly could see exactly where this was going, and she did not like it one bit. "Where is this bigger house you speak of?" she asked suspiciously.

Mrs. Truscott mumbled something Lilly couldn't understand.

"What?" she asked.

"Washington, D.C.," Mrs. Truscott repeated, waiting for the explosion to erupt from her daughter. She got no less than she expected.

"No, you can't be serious! How could you ever do such a thing without telling me?" Lilly asked incredulously. "And in the middle of the school year, too!" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Honey, listen! You know we'll let you visit Miley and Oliver during every vacation. And we'll let you call them as often as we can afford to. I'll even buy you a webcam!" Mr. Truscott said.

The webcam thing sounded okay. "Okay," Lilly said. "So when do we leave?"

"We move in a month," said Mrs. Truscott. (A/N: I've never moved before. Is the process really doable in a month? I'm pretty sure that's accurate.) "So let's get crackin' on that packin'." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"You will be going to Washington Preparatory Academy," said Lilly's father. "We've already sent al your stuff in."

X-x-x-x-X

Later that night, Lilly called Miley to tell her the bad news, but she wasn't quite sure how she would take it.

Her call went to the answering machine. Lilly had forgotten Miley had a Hannah concert.

She didn't want to upset her friend at a time like this, but it was urgent. "Miley, I'm moving to Washington, D.C. in a month. My parents want a bigger house. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but I just thought you ought to know. Call me back when you can."

Next, she called Oliver. He picked up on the first ring. Lilly's voice was steady now. "Oliver, I'm moving to Washington, D.C. in a month."

Oliver was in denial. "No, that's not possible! Lilly, I've known you since preschool. Your parents cannot just get up and move without having a good reason!"

"They want a bigger house. They've already bought it, and there's nothing I can do about it. They said I'd be going to a public school called Washington Prep. I'm sure I'll be miserable there. But my dad said he'd buy me a webcam, so that'll be okay. Everything will probably work out, at least I hope so."

"Alright. Get some sleep Lilly. I'll miss you."

"Yeah, but at least we have a month left. Goodnight."

"Back atcha." They hung up.

X-x-x-x-X

When Lilly woke up the next morning, she found Miley sitting by her bedside. "I got your message," Miley said. "Your parents said I could help out with the packing and stuff, if that's okay with you."

"If that's okay with me? Miley, you're my best friend! Why would that ever not be okay with me?"

"Well, I thought maybe you wanted to be alone, and-"

"It's called a rhetorical question, Miley." Lilly said, cutting her off. They both smiled.

"So, my parents said I could visit during every single vacation. Plus, my dad will buy me a webcam. It will be like I never moved."

"True, but you will probably make new friends," Miley said.

"Maybe, and maybe not," Lilly replied frankly. "I have no idea what the kids at Washington Prep are like. But even if I do, you're my best friend ever, and nothing could ever change that, even if our friendship has to be distant."

"And I'll visit you in Washington, too! This will work out fine!" Miley said. Secretly, she thought, _And no one to embarrass me backstage anymore. Lilly still gets star struck often._

X-x-x-x-X

A month later, Lilly was on a plane flying to Washington. She sat with her mother and a serious-looking woman who was on her laptop the entire trip. Lilly was not only bored out of her mind, but very nervous. She was worried that Washington Prep would either be filled with gangs, or crowded with Amber and Ashley clones. She was worried that there would be a heavy workload and she wouldn't even have time to talk to Miley and Oliver. But mostly she was worried that she would find someone who she liked more than Miley, and that she would have a new best friend. She didn't want that, and she knew Miley didn't either.

The next day, Lilly went down to breakfast. Her mom served her a stack of pancakes. Lilly drenched them with syrup and took a bite.

"Hey Lilly," her mom said. "Why don't you try to make some friends at school today?"

Of course, Lilly did not want to meet new friends, but she went anyway to make her mom happy.

As Lilly trudged through the campus, she looked for a girl her own age to talk to. She saw a girl hanging with some boys, but they looked like they were her best friends, so she decided to leave them alone. But the girl saw her and called Lilly over to the table.

"Hey, are you new here? My name's Meena." Lilly ignored her. She did not wish to be friends with this Meena girl. She had her own friends.

But something else drew her to the table. It was the boy sitting next to the girl. He had short blonde hair, with a nice figure and a big smile. He was really hot. He wore a blue shirt and blue jeans. _A new boyfriend is not the same as a new best friend,_ Lilly thought. _I want to get to know him._ She sat down at the table.

"Hey, what's your name?" asked the cute guy. "I'm Newt, and these are my friends Cory and Meena."

"Hey, Newt, Cory, and Meena. I'm Lilly, and I just moved here from Malibu. Today is my first day."

"Well, welcome to Washington Prep," said Cory.

NEWT'S POV:

The first time I saw that girl, Lilly, I think her name was, I found her very beautiful. She was really quiet, but I'm sure she's just adjusting to the new school. I would love to get to know her. She's so pretty. I especially love the red blouse she wore today. I know she acted strange, but I guess she's just sad that she had to move so suddenly. She said she had to move because her parents wanted a bigger house, and they didn't tell her until after they bought it. That's got to be rough. I bet she had to leave behind a lot of friends. That's never easy. My pity for her makes her more attractive. I really like this girl, and I want to date her. This whole thing would be so much easier if I weren't dating Jessica. I love her, too, and I'm not about to dump her. But then again, watching Lilly in science class today makes me realize that she's certainly no smarter than I am, so if I ever date her, I won't feel the occasional pangs of intimidation I still feel when I'm with Jessica. I don't want to cheat on the girls. Is dumping Jessica really worth it? I mean, I've only known this girl for a few hours, and I've known Jessica for five months. This is all so confusing.

A/N: Whew! I don't know how that paragraph turned out so long, but it did. :) When you review, please critique me on my writing. Thank you. Oh, and sorry that I sort of have two plots going on here. I thought I could work them into one.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Cory In The House, nor do I own Hannah Montana. Well, technically you could say I own Alex, Sam, and Tom (Lilly's past boyfriends)

The next day at lunch, Newt walked over to Meena. "Hey, Meena. So, have you been hanging with that Lilly girl?"

"Yeah. She sort of hangs out with me grudgingly, and she doesn't really want to be friends. I try to talk to her, but whenever I ask her how she is, she seems upset. I think her home in Malibu is a touchy subject."

Newt just came right out and said it. 'So, she doesn't want friends, huh? Do you think she wants a boyfriend?"

"A boyfriend? I don't-" Then it hit her. "But Newt, you're dating Jessica! And you hardly even know Lilly!"

"I know, and I'd like to. So do you think she'd want to hang out sometime?"

"Well, she's over there," Meena said, pointing to a nearby table. "Why don't you go ask her yourself?"

And Newt did just that. But this time he wasn't as direct. "Hi, Lilly," he said. Lilly waved.

"So, what are you doing this weekend," Newt asked.

Lilly's heart fluttered. _Is he asking me out?_

"Oh, nothing. I can talk to my friends Miley and Oliver, but only for half-hour each." She looked down at the table.

"So, do you want to go to a movie sometime?" Newt asked, and immediately regretted it. He knew that he should have taken a less direct approach. But to his relief Lilly nodded eagerly.

"Great! So, when are you free?"

"Oh, how about Saturday afternoon?" Lilly said, barely controlling herself. She was so excited.

Newt was barely controlling himself as well. "So, I'll pick you up at three?"

Lilly nodded. "That sounds good." The bell rang just then, so they had to leave.

X-x-x-x-X

In science, Newt gave Meena a thumbs-up, and she knew what it meant. She was a little surprised. She couldn't quite realize why Lilly would want to hang out with Newt and not her. But especially why she would not want to hang out with her. When they sat together at lunch the day before, Lilly wouldn't talk about her home, but she did talk a lot about her friends, particularly a lot of special times they had. She got the point; Lilly had friends, she missed her friends, and she didn't want new friends. But no one could survive a public school without friends who are actually _there_, and Lilly had yet to learn that.

But none of that explained why she wanted to hang with Newt. Newt was just as nice and friendly. There was no reason why she should favor Newt to her. But then Meena remembered something Lilly told her once. She said she'd had five boyfriends in the past two years. Obviously she was boy crazy.

Meena began fitting the pieces together. Lilly didn't want friends because she already had them, but she had a crush on Newt, and apparently she didn't have a boyfriend when she left Malibu. Newt had a crush on Lilly, but couldn't date her because he was already dating Jessica. Meena knew that Newt would have to solve his problem on his own, but she might be able to help Lilly out.

X-x-x-x-X

Later that night, Lilly opened up her webcam. "Miley!" she said.

"Hey there, Lilly. So what's going on in Washington?"

"Well," Lilly began. "A girl is trying to be my friend, but I won't let her." Miley smiled. "I've got a lot of homework to do, and the hottest guy in the world invited me to the mall on Saturday! What about you?"

"Well, aren't you a lucky duck. And boy, do I have great news for you! Hannah's having a concert in Washington DC in three weeks, and I've got tickets and backstage passes for you!" She held them up.

"Wow, how many times have I told you I'm so happy you're my best friend?" Lilly asked.

"Oh, only a thousand times a week," Lilly grinned. "But I never get sick of hearing it. So, tell me more about this boy!"

"Well, his name is Newt Livingston. He's really nice and sweet, and no smarter than I am. He's got short, blond hair, but he looks like a girl from behind. I'm really excited to go out with him!"

"I bet you are! He sounds great! I'll see you in three weeks! Oliver's coming, too!"

"Well, then I'll see both of you. "Bye for now." They turned off their webcams.

Lilly lay down on her bed and looked at her ceiling, glad she could still keep in touch with Miley. Miley was her best friend, and this Meena girl could not change that in a million years. Lilly was set on the fact that she would not try to make friends. She would not take the risk that someone would be her new best friend, and she and Miley would drift apart. No, she would never let that happen.

Newt was another story. Lilly had no boyfriend when she left Malibu. And there was something special about Newt that her other five boyfriends didn't. He was nice. All her other boyfriends were just cute. There was Lucas, who cheated on her, and Matt, who stood her up, at least at first. She knew Newt would never cheat on her or stand her up, she just knew it. She could tell by the way he acted around her that he really, truly cared about her.

X-x-x-x-X

On Saturday afternoon at three on the nose, Newt rang Lilly's doorbell. _And he's punctual, too,_ she thought. Her mother answered the door.

"Lilly, your boyfriend is here!" she called teasingly.

"Augghh!!" she cried as she went downstairs.

"Don't sweat it. Every parent, mom or dad, in the world is embarrassing." Newt said when they were outside.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Newt asked Lilly.

"Well, I do a lot of sports, but I especially like skateboarding and surfing. My friend Oliver and I spent a lot of time at the skate park, in the eleven years we've known each other." Lilly said, but felt kind of bad. When she was with Meena, she did it to make her feel bad. When she was with Newt, she didn't have a reason to. She felt guilty, and Newt could see that.

"Hey, it's okay." Newt patted her shoulder. "I moved here from Maryland when I was six. I talked about my friends in front of others, too."

"Well, let's just forget about that. So what do you like to do?" Lilly asked. She was eager to get to know him.

"Me? I mostly like video games and just chilling out and doing nothing."

"I like video games. I'm really good at them. Are you?" Lilly asked. They had reached the mall.

"Of course I'm good them! Was that some sort of challenge?" Newt said.

Lilly laughed. "If you want, we could stop by your house after the mall. How does that sound?"

"That sounds cool. Hey, do you mind if I stopped at the sports store for a while? I mean, I don't want to bore you."

"It's okay. I like clothes and sports. I'm not like most girls. Besides, I need a new helmet."

"Well, that makes you very unique." Lilly smiled. So they went into the sports store.

After they bought their stuff, Newt let Lilly go into the earring store.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, we both like sports, but, um, you like jewelry?"

"Well, no, but I just wanted to be nice because you kept glancing at the window."

"Oh, that." Lilly said. I was just looking at those skateboard earrings. But it looks like I can't afford them."

"Well, you can buy something else, if you want." Newt said. Lilly shrugged and went inside.

Once inside, Lilly finally decided on some purple flower studs (after looking for ten minutes) while Newt lounged by the door.

"Thanks for being so patient." Lilly said apologetically.

"It's cool. I had my own way of staying busy. Hey, do you want to go to the food court? I'm getting hungry myself."

"Okay, maybe we could have an early dinner. It's only four-thirty." Lilly said. So they got some spaghetti at the new Italian joint.

"So, do you like spaghetti?" asked Newt. _What kind of a question was that?_ He asked himself.

"Mmm-hmm. I like pasta. Spaghetti is my favorite."

Both were at a loss for conversation. They ate their entire meal silently.

Lilly thought about Newt. He was patient, comforting, flexible, and all-around cute! But something told her that she didn't like him as more than a friend. Maybe it was just because she had only known him for a few days. Also, they had really good friendship chemistry that shouldn't be wasted. But he was also good boyfriend material, and she felt that shouldn't be wasted, either.

Newt thought about Lilly, and he felt the exact same way. Was it really possible to be someone's friend and boyfriend? It was clear to both Lilly and Newt that they had to choose between one or the other. Newt still had some thinking to do, as did Lilly.

"Hey, want to go to my house and play video games now?" Newt asked. He felt like he needed a distraction.

"Sure, that sounds fine. Let's go." Lilly needed a distraction, too.

On the way to Newt's house, Newt asked, "So, do you mind if I ask about your life in Malibu?" He knew it was a touchy subject, but it would tell him something if she trusted him enough to tell him, and he needed all the signs he could to see if she could be his girlfriend. And Lilly did, in fact trust him.

She thought about it first. She didn't mind talking about Miley and Oliver, but her five boyfriends were another story. She had no idea how Newt would react, because she didn't know how he felt about her. But she decided to risk it.

"Well, you already know about Miley and Oliver. Let me tell you a bit about my love life, if that' okay." _Oh, this could mean something!_ Thought Newt. _I better start looking for signs!_

"That's okay," he said. "Go on."

"Well, I've had five boyfriends: Lucas, Matt, Tom, Alex, and Sam. Tom moved away, Lucas cheated on me, Matt stood me up on the first date, Alex dumped me because I was a grade below him, and Sam dumped me because I wasn't cool enough for him. That one hurt the most. So my love life hasn't been very good. But you're not like that, I can tell." Lilly panicked. _Did I actually say that?_

Newt let it slide. But he learned something else: Lilly was, in fact boy crazy. Newt was certain now that he wanted Lilly as his girlfriend, and he wanted to dump Jessica. Then he started to wonder if he was being greedy or fickle. So he decided to make pros and cons for each girl. The pros were exactly the same; both girls were sensitive, funny and beautiful. Jessica was annoyed by his boy behavior, unlike Lilly, and Jessica was also smart, and left him still feeling intimidated a lot, unlike Lilly. And Jessica didn't always let Newt do what he wanted, while Lilly was flexible and went with the flow. Finally, Lilly seemed to feel like she could tell him anything, while Jessica usually kept more things private. And what were Lilly's flaws? Well, she was…you know…and…okay, Lilly was the perfect girlfriend. But that wouldn't make dumping Jessica any easier.

A/N: Hey everybody. I know everyone in my story is really out of character (though almost every single fic have people OOC), and if you could give me some tips that would be great. Thanks. :) Oh, and sorry this chapter was so long. It was 2000 words even!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana or Cory in the House, thank you very much.

When Newt woke up the next morning, he was thoroughly prepared to dump Jessica. But when he saw her at school later, something changed his mind.

"Hey, Jessica what's the square root of 34,908 divided by eight?" asked a boy.

"23.354," Jessica said without even hesitating. The boy and his friend looked at each other and snickered. Newt realized just then that he was pretty much the only one in the whole school who really cared about her. If he dumped Jessica, she would be completely alone. She depended on Newt to care about her and be there for her. If he dumped her, he would never be able to live with himself. But at the same time, Lilly wad just as lonely. He couldn't possibly dump either of them. He had some thinking to do.

In science class, Newt tried to sort things out. Once again, he listed the pros and cons of each girl, and this time was able to find a couple of Lilly's flaws. Lilly was tomboyish, flirty, flexible, beautiful, patient, funny, sweet, and open. Jessica was beautiful, patient, and sweet. Lilly's flirtatiousness sometimes made him uncomfortable, and sometimes she was unpredictable, which, come to think of it, was good and bad. Jessica was intimidating, slightly bossy, made few jokes, was predictable, something that was just bad, and kept things private. It was pretty obvious who made the better girlfriend. The question was, who was sadder without him?

"Newt?"

"What?"

"Would you answer my question?"

"I'm sorry, what was the question?" Several snickers were heard in the classroom.

The teacher sighed. "Jessica, why don't you answer?"

"Forty-two degrees!" Jessica answered promptly. More snickers.

Newt went back to thinking. For the second time, he considered cheating, but immediately rejected the idea. Looking at Jessica, he knew that she would never forgive him if she knew that she lost the one and only person who cared about her, and he would never forgive himself. Unfortunately, Jessica had no hope of making friends. However, Lilly did have a chance, if only she would let people try to be her friend. As hard as it was for both of them, Newt would have to live without Lilly. Unfortunately, Jessica needed him, while Newt and Lilly just wanted each other. Despite how difficult it was, Newt had to face that fact.

X-x-x-x-X

Three weeks later, Lilly got set to go to the Hannah concert. She was really pumped to go, that is, until Meena came up to her the next day at school.

"Hey, I just got two tickets to the Hannah Montana concert today!" Meena said. "Do you want to come with me, Lilly?" Meena was still trying to get Lilly to be her friend.

"Thanks, that's really sweet of you! Actually, I already have a ticket, and a backstage pass. You can come, too. Just give me a minute.

Lilly dialed Miley's number. "Um, Miley, we have a problem."

"What kind of problem? What do you mean?"

"Well, this girl I told you about, the one who wants to be my friend, apparently she had two tickets to-" she lowered her voice, "your concert. I told her I already had a ticket, and I…may have slightly bragged that I had a backstage pass, too.

"Oh, Lil-ly!" Miley groaned. "Please don't tell me you said you'd get her one, too!"

"Err, I wish I couldn't. What am I going to do?" Lilly asked.

Miley had no idea what to do. "Let's just…tell her my secret. Is she around?"

"Yeah, she's right by me."

"Okay, invite her over tonight, and turn on your webcam. She'll only be able to believe it if she sees me put my wig on. And tell her she can have the backstage pass. I can't believe you shot your mouth off like that!"

"I know, sorry, and thanks so much!" Lilly rushed over to tell Meena.

"Hey Meena, I've got you a backstage pass! Oh, and could you come to my house this afternoon?"

"Yeah, sure!" Meena took the invitation as a good sign of friendship.

X-x-x-x-X

Later that afternoon, Lilly turned on her webcam and saw Miley. Meena stood right next to her.

"Meena, this is my friend Miley. Miley, this is Meena."

"Hi! Nice to met you! Err…sort of."

"Nobody's perfect! I gotta work it! Again and again 'till I get it right! Nobody's perfect! You live and you learn it! And if I mess it up sometimes, hey! Nobody's perfect!" Miley sang over the webcam.

"That's amazing!" Meena was impressed. "You sound exactly like-" Meena began.

"Hannah Montana?' Well, that's because it's true." She put her wig on, and Meena shrieked.

"A faint, speechlessness, and now a bloodcurdling scream. That is the last time I'm telling someone my secret. Well, I've got to get ready now. I'll see you guys in a couple hours! Wear your wig, Lola! The guards don't know Lilly, and I don't think they'll let Meena in if she's with Lilly. Well, I'll see you guys in a couple hours. Bye!" Miley turned off the webcam.

"Lola?" Meena asked.

"Oh, I have to wear a wig and change my name when I'm with her, because if people see me with her as Hannah and I'm not wearing a disguise, well, there would be problems at school."

"I see. Well, we better get ready. The concert is in six hours.

X-x-x-x-X

"I go-ot-I got Nerve!"

As the last song ended, Lola and Meena went backstage and into Hannah's dressing room.

"This is so cool! Isn't this so cool, Lola?" Meena said.

"Yeah, for the first five times or so." Lola said. They both smiled.

"Hey, guys. Let me just deal with the other fans who got backstage passes first. I don't even want to know what would happen if someone saw me let you in." Miley whispered.

So after everyone had left, Miley let the girls into the dressing room.

"Why don't you guys take your wigs off now?"

"Oh, you never know what crazed fans that go to your school try to sneak in while they are showering," Miley said through gritted teeth. She was looking directly at Lilly. "Isn't that right, Lola?"

Lilly looked down at the floor. "I-was obsessed with you back then."

"It's okay. We had good times together, didn't we? Oh, remember that time we told Traci that there was a spider in her hair and she believed us? That was so classic. Now whenever anyone says 'spider' we crack up!"

"Spider," Meena said weakly. Sure enough, Miley burst into laughter.

But Lilly didn't.

She knew exactly what Miley was trying to do, and frankly, she didn't like it one bit. Even though she didn't want to be Meena's friend either, she didn't think she deserved to be left out. No one deserved to be hurt, except maybe Miley, for being such a jerk.

"Well, anyway, let's not talk about the past in front of people who weren't there." Lilly said.

Miley thought, How dare she stick up for this stranger! I'm her best friend, not this Meena freak.

Meena thought, Yeah, isn't that the same thing you did to me, Lilly?

"Okay then. Well, welcome to my dressing room. Have a hot dog!" Meena took one.

For the rest of the night, Lilly tried to keep the peace between her two friends. Meena and Miley both were aware that Lilly was ready to accept Meena as a friend. Meena was thrilled; Miley was hurt. Meena was not Lilly's best friend; she was. Just because Lilly moved away didn't mean that she could have new friends. Whenever Miley tried to make Meena feel bad, Lilly would jump to her defense. Miley was very hurt and confused. Did Lilly not care about her anymore?

X-x-x-x-X

Newt had unhappily been dating Jessica for the past couple weeks. But he didn't show that he was unhappy. Now he had to deal with Lilly. He decided introducing her to Jessica was a gentle way of telling her he couldn't date her. But he was awfully afraid of how she would take it. Like most guys, he didn't like to see girls cry, but he had to get it over with.

"Hi, Lilly!" Newt said. He had Jessica right next to him, holding his hand. "This is my girlfriend Jessica."

"Oh, hi Jessica!" Lilly said. She was an awfully good sport. Newt was caught off-guard.

"Well, see you around. Bye." Newt said.

Lilly was a good sport because she had already convinced herself it couldn't work between the two of them. They had great friendship chemistry, and no matter how big a crush she did have on him, she had to sacrifice it.

And Newt, Newt was far from happy. He did not want to date Jessica. He wanted Lilly more than anything. But Jessica was on the bossy side, despite the fact that she was shy and vulnerable. Three reasons why he could not dump her. And trying to get her to dump him would never work, because she was smart enough to get the picture, and anything like that was just another sign that Newt didn't want her. No, he had to keep pretending to be happy. He had to keep dating Jessica, no matter what.

A/N: Sorry this chapter was a little shorter. I'm just kinda tired. Again, sorry about the whole two plots thing. R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

Newt got ready for his unwilling date with Jessica. No, he decided, unwilling was not the right word. He did not dislike Jessica; he just didn't prefer her. But honestly, Jessica was great to hang out with. She was pretty and liked him for who he was. Although she didn't make him feel good about himself, she was nice and gentle. And although he couldn't do whatever he wanted, he knew that that was what relationships were about. Somehow, however, he felt a need to be happy himself. He didn't know how much longer he could pull this happy act.

That night at The Purple Lobster, Newt and Jessica had a very silent meal. Newt was studying Jessica's flaws once again. He found another one: she was much too uptight. He could see that just by the way she ate. Come to think of it, he had never seen Jessica be silly or goofy or even crack a joke in the five months he had known her. For an almost completely silly guy like Newt, things always seemed so tense when they were together. When he was with Lilly-

Newt stopped himself. _I shouldn't be thinking about Lilly! And I shouldn't think about Jessica's flaws, either! I should just accept that Jessica's my girlfriend and that's that. There's nothing I can do about that. _

But then another thought crossed his mind. _But wait a second, how do I even know Jessica needs me? What if I misinterpreted the whole thing and she doesn't mind if I dump her? _ Newt felt a rush of hope.

"Hey, Jessica, could you live without me?" Newt asked. He was wondering which way she would take it.

"Well, of course I couldn't live without you! What, do you think I don't care about you?" She put her arm around him.

"Newt, I solemnly swear that I couldn't live without you. If you weren't my boyfriend, I would be the most miserable person on the planet. Newt, you're the only one in the school who cares about me! You don't talk about me behind my back or giggle when the teacher hands me an A+. You're special to me, Newt," Jessica finished. I don't just want you, I need you."

_Yeah, that was not the response I was looking for, Jessica. Now I can never date Lilly. That makes me far from happy. You want me to be happy, don't you? And you also want to be my girlfriend, huh? I really wish you could have both, Jess, I really do. But you just can't, unless I learn to be happy without Lilly-and that will be a very difficult task, I'm sorry to say. _Newt went to bed that night sadder than he had been in a long time.

X-x-x-x-X

Lilly and Meena had been friends happily for five days. Miley was very, very mad about that, and on Thursday evening, she turned on her webcam and was prepared to tell Lilly, her _ex_-best friend off.

"Hey, Miley!" Lilly said. "What's up in Malibu?"

"Um, not that you'd care, but I just aced the English final I had on Tuesday. How's life with your new best friend?" she asked icily.

"Oh, well, we've really hit it off. We go to the mall or movies every day, and she's slept over twice."

"Oh," Miley said quietly.

"Miley, wait!" Lilly called, just as she was about to turn off the webcam. "Come on, you know I'm only kidding! You're still my best friend."

"I thought you made a promise to me!" Miley cried. "I thought you promised not to make any new friends when you moved to Washington! I thought we both agreed on that!"

"I know, I know. But Meena taught me a very important lesson: if you don't have friends with you, you won't survive in a public school."

"Yeah, I know, but I don't want you to forget about me."

Lilly softened a little. "Miley, you've got to trust me! You've got to trust that you'll always be my best friend, no matter who comes along. You won't be my only friend anymore, but you'll still be my best friend. You have to trust me, just like you trusted me with your Hannah secret. Understand?"

"Okay. I understand that, I think. As long as you promise not to forget about me, then I'm okay with that. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I wouldn't let you be happy?"

"So are we cool?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, we're cool. Cyber-hugs?" Miley said.

"What's that?" Lilly asked.

"Well, it's when we hug our computers, and the hugs get transferred to us."

"Come on Miley, isn't that a little childish?" Lilly asked.

"Oh, who cares? Let's just do it." So on the count of three they hugged their computers and shut off their webcams.

X-x-x-x-X

Meanwhile, Newt was a wreck. He had barely gotten any sleep since his date with Jessica, which was five days without a good night's sleep. Jessica was all he could think about. If she really cared about him, she would want him to be happy, but at the same time she admitted herself that she needed him. It was way too much confusion for him to handle. He wanted to talk to Meena. Maybe she could help.

"Hey, Meena. I need to talk to you." Newt said the next day at lunch.

"Is this about your relationship with Lilly?" Meena asked.

"Yeah, it is. Is that a problem?"

"No, that's fine. Keep going." Meena said.

"Okay, well now that I've gotten to know Lilly, I really wish I could be her boyfriend. And I can tell she likes me back." Newt said.

"And I second that opinion," Meena said. "She seems to talk about you a lot."

"So of course I have to dump Jessica. And that's become easier to do, because lately I've been noticing her flaws often. For example, she's always uptight, and she's annoyed by my boy behavior." Newt said.

"She's not the only one, trust me," Meena said under her breath.

"What's that?" Newt asked.

"Oh, nothing," Meena said innocently. "Carry on."

"Also, she can be on the bossy side. Plus, she's intimidating. But Lilly has none of those traits. Meena, she's the perfect girlfriend."

"So why is it so hard to dump Jessica?"

"Well," Newt continued. "When I went out with her last night, I asked her if she could live without me, and she said she honestly couldn't. I'm the only one who really cares about her, Meena! She'll be far from happy if I dump her. But I'm far from happy right now because I'm dating her! So what do you think I should do?"

"Well," Meena said. "If you want my opinion, I say you should date Lilly. If Jessica really cares about you, she'd want you to be happy."

"That's what I thought, too," Newt said. "But at the same time, would she be happy herself if I dumped her? It's like we can't both be happy."

"Well, you don't think she would be happy because you're happy?" Meena asked.

"Actually, no I don't. She's so vulnerable and sensitive. If just one person liked her, you know, as more than a friend, then maybe my problem would be a little easier. But no one else even likes her as a friend. You don't, do you?" Newt asked. He felt another rush of hope, only to have it smashed once more.

"Weeeelllll…" Meena said.

"That's what I thought." Newt hung his head.

"I'm sorry. It's just for all the reasons you mentioned. She's just not fun to be around," Meena said. "So, Newt, what do you think you should do about Jessica?"

"Wait, what?" Newt was getting frustrated. "You're supposed to be helping me! But you're not! You're not helping me at all!"

"Well, I just want to know what you think. So tell me, what do you think you should do?"

"What am I going to do? Well, that's easy! I'll just keep dating Jessica!" Newt said.

"Newt, listen to me. " Meena said. "You're really nice, and that's great! But don't you think you're being a little too nice? It sounds like you're awfully unhappy dating Jessica. I mean, if she gets mad when you dump her, then she shouldn't be your girlfriend anyway. You deserve to be with Lilly. If that's what you really want, then you deserve it, especially because you're so nice." That gave Newt something to chew on.

"All right. I'll think about it. But I highly doubt I will change my mind."

"Want to bet on it?" asked Meena.

Newt looked disgusted. "No, I don't want to bet on it!"

Meena just smirked. Newt rolled his eyes.

X-x-x-x-X

After she finished her homework, Jessica sat at the kitchen table and thought. She was thinking about Newt. He had been acting quieter than usual, and it seemed like he had been studying her lately. What was he working on, some sort of project? But it was the question he asked last night that really bothered her. Was Newt trying to dump her? Jessica began to wonder what was wrong with her. Was she boring? Intimidating? Too serious? Or was it just another girl? Maybe that was it. He seemed to like the new girl, Lilly, a lot. But Jessica trusted Newt. She trusted that he would never dump her, especially just because he liked someone else. She really was dependant on him. Not even Meena, the nicest girl at school, wanted to be around her. It was the worst feeling in the world, rejection. She meant what she said that night. She needed Newt, and she would never let him go no matter what.

X-x-x-x-X

As Newt went to bed, he considered Meena's advice, but couldn't help tossing it aside. So what if he was too nice? How exactly was that a bad thing? Newt was absolutely positive he had made his final decision. He was going to continue dating Jessica for the sake of her happiness. Little did he know how far Meena would go to stop him.

A/N: Hey, I know I may have patched up Lilly's problem too quickly, but I felt like I needed to move things along. I'm trying to make this story seven chapters long, but I can only find a way to make it six. Hopefully I'll find a way, though.

Oh, and I know the Jessica paragraph wasn't _perfect_ placement, at least I think, but I really needed to add it in. I realized that I never explained how Jessica was feeling. So anyway, read and review!


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Meena walked over to Jessica. She needed to talk to her about Newt. He had been her friend for eight years, and she didn't like seeing him so miserable. If she found out how Jessica felt, maybe she would be able to help.

"Hey, Jessica," Meena said. "I wanted to talk to you about Newt.

"Funny thing, so did I." Jessica replied. "Has something been bothering him? He's been acting funny lately."

"As a matter of fact, there is." Meena was about to tell her the whole story about Lilly, but stopped herself. What had she gotten herself into? What she was technically about to tell her was, "Your boyfriend doesn't like you anymore. He thinks you're boring and bossy. He likes this new girl, Lilly. It's over." It was kind of a harsh message, and she hated to have to be the one to tell her. But she had already started, and Newt refused to talk, so she pretty much had no excuse to stop.

"Well?" Jessica prompted.

Meena tried stalling. "Hey, I love your shoes!"

Jessica looked down. "Oh…thanks," she replied. "Now, what about Newt?"

Meena looked in her locker. "Oh, I see you got an A+ on your science exam. Great job!"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "And you're surprised?"

Meena had to take another crack at stalling. "Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful eyes-"

"Meena!" Jessica said, a little too loudly. "What is wrong with Newt? Could you just answer that question, for crying out loud!"

Meena took a deep breath and groaned softly. It was clear she could stall no longer. She really hated doing this. "Look, the thing is, Newt doesn't want to go out with you anymore." She couldn't bear to see the hurt look on Jessica's face. "He feels like he can't have fun with you anymore. He says you guys don't have a lot in common, and he feels tense around you because you never seem to goof off. Plus, you can be a little pushy. He really wants to date the new girl, Lilly. I hate to be the one to tell you this, I really do."

"If Newt wanted to dump me, he should have told me himself. It hurts more hearing it from someone else." Jessica stormed off.

"Wait, you didn't let me finish! Jessica!" Meena pleaded.

Jessica turned around. "I'm listening," she said icily.

"The reason Newt didn't want to tell you is that he wasn't going to dump you. He cared about your happiness more than his own."

That touched Jessica. She was on the verge of tears. "Wow, that's so nice of him. And to be honest, I'm glad he's doing it. It's really tough to have no one care about you. Sometimes I just need someone to lean on. I find no reason to stop him."

"Look, Jessica, I know it hurts to have only one person seem to like you, but you just can't stop someone from being happy, no matter how it benefits you. Okay? If you really love Newt, you'll want him to be happy. Promise?"

"I still don't know. I'm not trying to be selfish here, but I'm just as miserable without Newt! People talk behind my back, point at me when I walk by, and even prank me! If it weren't for Newt, I would definitely be dropping out of school right now. I need him." Jessica looked like she would cry again.

Meena sighed. "Well, what if you had a friend? Then would you consider dumping him?"

Jessica giggled. "Okay, no offense, but that sounded awfully parental." They both laughed.

So will you at least think about letting him go?

"I promise to think about it, but only if you promise to find a friend for me. Is it a deal?" Jessica asked.

Meena shrugged. "It's a deal."

X-x-x-x-X

Jessica promised she would think about letting Newt go, and she did. At first, she didn't change her mind. Having a friend might be even better than having a boyfriend, but she didn't think it was humanly possible for anyone to befriend a girl like her. Unless of course, Meena was subtly offering to be her friend. But if she was, she didn't want to put her through that burden. She couldn't force anyone to like her.

Come to think of it, she couldn't force Newt to like her either, and that's exactly what she was doing. Meena was right all along. She wasn't going to let Newt do something nice for her that was so inconvenient for him. That wasn't fair, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself. When they went to the Liberry the next night, she would try and straighten things out. If Newt wanted to be with Lilly so badly, then it wasn't up to Jessica to stop him.

X-x-x-x-X

The next day, Jessica met Newt at the Liberry. They needed to get things straightened out, and soon.

"Hi, Newt!" Jessica said.

"Hi!" Newt said, promptly this time.

Jessica just came right out and said it. "Newt, Meena told me about you and Lilly yesterday." Newt looked pretty guilty.

"Jessica, I just want you to know that I was never going to dump you!" Newt said. He was all set to plead for forgiveness.

"No, Newt, I won't let you keep me as your girlfriend. If you want Lilly, then you deserve her."

"No, Jessica! I don't want to leave you alone! I couldn't bear to do that!"

"Newt, it just hurts more if I know you're pretending to like me." Jessica said.

"But I'm not pretending to like you!" Newt insisted. "I really do care about you. But we just don't have a connection. I can be your boyfriend without pretending to like you."

Jessica took a deep breath. "Okay, I believe you. But I'm not going to let you suffer. I care about you too much to inconvenience you in any way. So please, don't continue to date me if you don't want to."

"Jessica, no," Newt replied after a few moments. "I can see the hurt look in your face. I don't care how much it inconveniences me. I'll date you no matter what."

A tear slipped down Jessica's cheek. "Newt, I swear that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. I'll let you do this, but only because I know I can't force you to change your mind. And I won't force you to think about it, either. Just trust me: you will change your mind. I know it, I just know it."

"Alright. It's a deal. Here, take this." Newt handed her a tissue, and they went on with their date.

A/N: Alright I'll admit the ending was a bit rushed, as was the entire chapter, but I couldn't think of much to write. Anyway, read and review, please!


	6. Chapter 6

Almost a month had passed since the conversation Newt had with Jessica. Newt was somewhat content with his girlfriend, and was learning to accept her flaws. Despite the fact that their dates were pretty quiet and no longer as frequent, it was nice to have someone who truly cared about them, and that's what really mattered. Even Meena and Cory thought he was at least a little weird. So did everyone in the school. Of course, Candy Smiles was definitely the weird_est_, but Newt was definitely up there. Everyone knew he got terrible grades. Come to think of it, that was probably how Jessica felt all the time. Maybe that was one of the main reasons they clicked so well. Yes, Newt decided, he was just fine with his relationship with Jessica. He still thought about Lilly, and he did miss her, but not enough to change his mind, not at all. He still couldn't hurt Jessica like that, even if she firmly insisted that she was fine with it. He wasn't that kind of person.

X-x-x-x-X

Lilly also thought about Newt. It was hard for anyone to have a crush on someone who liked someone else, or had a girlfriend. But when she talked with Meena the next day, her spirits were lifted greatly.

"Hey, Meena, what's up? Or rather, what's wrong?" Lilly said, noticing her new friend's long face at lunch the next day.

Meena considered telling Lilly what went down with Newt and Jessica. On one hand, as Newt's friend, it was not the best idea to blab his personal love life to other people. But on the other hand, Lilly was, in a way, a part of this problem, as she was pretty much the cause of the whole thing. No, that was a harsh way of putting it. But Lilly definitely deserved to know what was going on.

Meena told her the entire story from the beginning. "So, you remember Newt's girlfriend Jessica, don't you?" Meena began.

"How could I forget?" Lilly said, with a touch of sadness in her voice.

"Well, he wanted to dump her for you, but didn't because Jessica was desperate for him. She's miserable without him. And Newt was about to end it when she told him that, so he decided not to let her go. But then he told me he was unhappy, and I told Jessica how he was feeling. Jessica spoke to Newt, telling him it was okay if he dumped her, no matter how unhappy she would be, but Newt insisted he would keep her, but he's still not 100 happy with his choice, even though he's in denial. It just kind of hurts to see your friend so unhappy. It really does."

"Hey, I know that feeling," Lilly said. "Cheer up. He'll be fine."

Meena sighed. She had done a lot of that in the past couple of months. "Well, do you have any ideas?" she asked after a while.

"Maybe Newt hasn't cracked yet because he doesn't remember what it's like with me," Lilly said after thinking a couple moments. "Maybe if he spends some time with me, he'll be able to make a valid comparison. He can't make a comparison right now because he doesn't clearly remember what hanging with me is like. If he remembers, he might change his mind, you see what I'm saying?" Meena nodded.

"So all we have to do is find a way to get you two together!" Meena brightened.

"Exactly!" Lilly said.

"So, um, how do we really do that? There are a lot of things to figure out. I mean, for one thing, how will you even get together? Newt and Jessica go out, like, every weekend, and they always sit together at lunch."

Lilly put her head in her hands. Jessica came to join them just then. "Hey guys! Is it okay if I sit here?" Meena nodded.

Jessica was just about to ask what was wrong when her cell phone rang. She answered it. "Hey, Mom. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow at lunch? Okay, thanks." Meena gave Lilly a look that clearly meant, "There's our answer."

X-x-x-x-X

The next day at lunch, Lilly sat next to Newt without even asking if she could. Newt knew exactly what was going on. It was obvious that Meena and Lilly were trying to set him up and get him to admit he was unhappy. He would have told her off, but he was kind of happy to see her, so he let her stay.

"Hi, Lilly! Great to see you again," Newt exclaimed.

"What exactly are you eating there?" Lilly asked, referring to the school lunch Newt bought.

He studied it. "The menu says tuna casserole, but I don't believe it."

Lilly smiled. "The horrors of school lunches," and then added, "Whoo! I am the evil tuna casserole! If you don't eat me, you will die! If you eat me, you will also die. Your choice." That made Newt crack up. He felt like he hadn't laughed in years.

Lilly beamed. "All my other friends would roll their eyes at that."

"Mine too," Newt agreed. "Sometimes people just don't appreciate silliness like we do."

"I hear you."

"So, um, what are you eating?" Newt asked, looking at the lump of food on Lilly's plate.

"Oh, some of mom's home cooking. It looks like meat loaf." Lilly wrinkled her nose, and Newt made a gagging sound.

"School lunches are way better than home lunches," Lilly added.

Newt pointed to his tray. "Allow me to disagree. Have you ever tried a school lunch here?"

"Actually, I did once. Then again, it was pizza…" They both smiled.

"Here, take a bite," Newt urged. He grabbed Lilly's fork, shoved it in the casserole, and managed to force it into her stubborn, closed, mouth. She spit it out the second it touched her tongue, accidentally spraying it all over Newt.

While Newt's mouth was still open from shock, Lilly thrust a forkful of meat loaf into his mouth, and he repeated the spraying process.

Lilly giggled. "Sorry for spraying you and shoving food into your mouth."

Newt smiled. "Same here. But you have a point-home lunches can be pretty disgusting."

"Well, maybe it depends on who cooks it, and what the food is. School lunches are disgusting no matter what."

"Well, except for that pizza," Newt added.

"Point taken," Lilly said in agreement. "Pizza is good no matter where it's from."

Suddenly Newt got into a sneezing fit. While he recovered, Lilly turned around and gave Meena a thumbs-up. Meena returned it.

"Sorry," Newt said when he finished. "Allergies."

Lilly nodded. "I understand. I hate everything about spring, especially the allergies."

"At least I'm not allergic to food. It's nice being able to eat whatever I want. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm allergic to bananas and peanuts. I'm deathly allergic to peanuts."

"Really? That's a shame. I love bananas." Newt said sympathetically.

"Hey, Newt, will you remember me tomorrow?" Lilly asked. She thought she could lighten things up with a joke.

"Um, yeah." Newt said.

"What about next week?"

"Yup.

"In a month?"

"Yes!"

"In a year?"

Newt was getting exasperated. "Yes, already! Why do you ask?"

"Knock-knock," Lilly said.

"Who's there?"

"See? You already forgot me!" Newt laughed. He literally could not remember the last time he heard a joke.

"Hey, Lilly, did you hear about the dying guy named Al who-" Newt began.

"Wanted a city named after him?" Lilly finished for him. "Yeah, I do, but you can tell me anyway."

"Alright, so there's this guy named Al, right? He was lying on his death bead, and his best friend was standing next to him. So Al said, 'Before I die, promise me one thing. Promise me they'll have a city named after me.' And his friend said, 'Okay, Al.' And Al asked, 'Will it be pretty?' His friend said, 'Absolutely, Al.' And Al asked, 'Will lots of people come to it?' His friend said, 'You can count on it, Al!' By then Al was very weak, and he knew that his next words would be his last, so he said, 'And you promise it will be named after me?' His friend replied, 'You betcha, Mr. Buquerque.'" Lilly laughed out of pity.

Newt hadn't had that much fun in ages. When the bell rang, Newt was glad Meena tried to set him up. When he went on his date with Jessica later that night, he knew he would make a full comparison, and then he would truly make his final decision.

X-x-x-x-X

"Hi, Jessica!" Newt said. He was meeting her for dinner and a movie. He was glad they were eating first. That way he could use the movie to think.

"So sorry we have to go to Burger King tonight," Newt said. "But it's my turn to pay, and I spent my allowance on video games." Jessica rolled her eyes. _Lilly would understand, _Newt thought.

He wondered if she was any playful. He tried shoving the burger into Jessica's mouth playfully. She spit it out and screamed. "Newt, what are you thinking?"

"I was thinking…I don't know what I was thinking." At that moment, they hated each other, but then a guy from their school and his friend walked past, and their feelings for each other changed instantly.

"Hey, Joe, there's the freaky kid from my science class I was telling you about. The one that skipped all those grades?"

"Oh, and that guy next to her is in my math class," said the boy named Joe. "I swear, he hasn't gotten one problem right all year. Talk about a total dunce! Why does he even hang with her? I bet he can't understand a single word she says!"

"Um, like we can't hear you from over there," Jessica said haughtily.

"Of course, genius! That's the point. And I thought you were the smart one!" The two friends walked away laughing hysterically.

"What jerks! How can people be so mean?" Newt said. All of a sudden, they loved each other again, because they needed each other. Newt sighed. He couldn't even make himself hate her. But then there was his date with Lilly at lunch…

"Newt, I think it's time for us to let go." Jessica said calmly.

Newt sighed. "Look, I wish I could let go as much as you do, no offense, but you heard those guys! Are you sure you'll be able to live without me?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Jessica said sincerely. "And none taken," she added.

"I'm sorry. Just give me a little time to think, okay? Just one more day, that's all I ask."

"Fine. Just promise me you'll give me a final verdict by lunch tomorrow."

"You can count on it!" Newt said confidently. He would not break that promise.

X-x-x-x-X

By the time he had finished his math homework, Newt had made his final decision. His absolute, positive, sure, final decision was-no. He would not let go of Jessica. Not just because she needed him anymore. He needed her, too. They were the smartest and…not smartest in the entire school. Jessica had no friends, and Newt had two friends who thought he was kind of weird. He had a sense of belonging with Jessica. He wasn't willing to let her go. Plus, he was pretty sure Lilly was still sort of mad at him for technically cheating on her. And Meena had also told him that Lilly disliked the fact that he wasn't a romantic person. (And he sure wouldn't deny that.) It couldn't have worked out with Lilly anyway. There was no way he would ever change his mind at that point.

But as he was about to put his homework away, something caught his eye. And seeing that little thing on his desk was surely enough to change his mind.

Permanently.

A/N: There, that was a long chapter. So, any guesses as to what was on his desk?


	7. Chapter 7

Newt walked up to Jessica the next day at lunch. He had made his final decision.

"Jessica, I'm ready to let go, I think," he said.

Jessica kissed Newt on the cheek. "Thank you for finally coming through. It hurt to have such a guilty conscience. I love you, and I know you feel the same about me, but I could never force you to be unhappy just so I can be."

"And that's how I felt, too! But if you sincerely promise that you're really fine without me, then maybe I'll give you up."

"Well, I absolutely promise you I'm totally happy. Does that make you feel better?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, actually that makes me feel a lot better," Newt said.

Jessica waited a moment. "So, I hope we can still be friends," she said hopefully.

"Oh, you bet we can still be friends!" Newt hesitated. "Just one more kiss?"

"Oh, you bet!" Then, they shared their last kiss. It was kind of sad for both of them.

"Hey, there's Lilly," said Jessica. "Go for her!"

Newt was doubtful. "I don't think she forgives me. I don't know if she'll even talk to me. Maybe I should just forget it."

"But Newt, you have n idea if Lilly will forgive you or not. Trust yourself a little more. Just go for it!" So that's just what Newt did. He walked up to her.

"Hi, Lilly! How are you?" Newt asked cheerfully.

Lilly, on the other hand, was not incredibly cheerful. "Oh, I'm okay," she answered coolly. "Got any more girlfriends I should know about?"

"Nope, I'm single now. So will you please give me a second chance? I promise I will never, ever do something like that again, really!" Newt begged.

Lilly was pretty unsure. "Newt, I would love to forgive you. But you were attracted to me when you were already dating Jessica! Did she even forgive you?"

"As a matter of fact, she did," Newt retorted. "And we're cool now. So why can't you forgive me?"

Lilly calmed down a bit. "Okay, I do forgive you. But we just have excellent friendship chemistry that shouldn't be wasted. Do you even have a romantic side? All my other boyfriends were romantic."

"Were all of your boyfriends nice?" Newt asked.

"No, but they were all romantic. And you were no different from Lucas!"

"Ah, the one who cheated on you," Newt said. While they were playing video games on their mall date two months before, Lilly talked a lot more about her past boyfriends.

"Right, him," Lilly continued. "But like I said, you're far from romantic! You're not even smart enough to know what romantic is!" Newt stormed away mid-sentence.

"Newt, wait!" Lilly literally grabbed his shirt. He turned around.

"Speak," he said plainly.

"Look, I didn't mean to say that alright? It's just that, well, I've had terrible boyfriend experiences in the past. I just wish I could have a boyfriend who truly cared about me and only me. Someone who would be committed to me, and maybe even do something special for me. I've had no one like that, and you're no exception." She began to turn around.

"Don't you get it?" Newt's temper was beginning to shorten. "I've been dating Jessica for five months. How long did you say Lucas dated Ashley before he asked you to be his girlfriend?"

"Um, three days, I think. What does that have to do with anything?" Lilly asked.

"So, I've been dating Jessica for five months! I've had plenty of time to be with her, and I have the right to switch girlfriends after a significant time like that. Three days, well, that's another story. Lucas was just greedy. He probably didn't even care for you that much. I cared about you since the day I met you. We have so much in common, Lilly! Jessica and I don't." Lilly was beginning to crack, and Newt could see that. He was saving his best reason for last.

Lilly took a deep breath. "Newt, Meena told me that you didn't want to let go of Jessica. Why is that?"

"Lilly, I didn't want to let her go because she was miserable without me, yet at the same time I was miserable with her. So tell me, Lilly, what do you take from that?"

"Well…" Lilly was trapped. "Alright, it tells me that you're a nice person who would commit themselves to their girlfriend. But are you romantic?" Newt responded with a very long kiss. All of a sudden, Lilly became herself again-giggly and girly.

"Wow, that felt, like, amazing!" Newt said.

"Yeah, it really did," Lilly admitted. "I've never felt so attracted to any of my boyfriends like this before. I guess it's because you're nice and cute, not just cute. Maybe this could work out after all!" Newt nodded in agreement.

But something was still on Lilly's mind. "Look, I really don't want to seem picky here, but I want you to pass the final test. But you don't have to do it now. Just promise me that in the next month or so, you'll do something special for me.

Newt beamed. "I thought you'd never ask! I already did." He took something out of his pocket. It was the same thing he saw on his desk the night before.

"Oh, it's a white box! Thank you so much, Newt!" Lilly said sarcastically. Newt rolled his eyes.

"Just look inside!" When she opened the box, she was appalled.

"You still want those skateboard earrings?" Newt asked sincerely.

"But-but-how-why-what-how did you-huh?" Lilly was so happy she could barely speak.

"I told you I had something to keep myself busy."

"But Newt, how on earth did you afford these? They were, like, fifty bucks!"

"Hello, my dad's a senator and my mom's on the Supreme Court. My family has plenty of money. So, do you like them?"

"Like them? Newt, I wanted these earrings so badly, and you knew that. But I'm sure it costs at least some significant amount of money, even for you, am I right?" Lilly asked.

"Yes, you are right," Newt said modestly.

"Newt, that is the most wonderful, special thing anyone has ever done for me! Congratulations, you passed all three tests! Here's your trophy." Lilly rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Lilly, you are so funny," Newt cooed.

"So, what do you think of them?" Lilly asked in a singsong voice.

"Lilly, um, you do realize I'm a boy, don't you?"

Lilly blushed. "Right, sorry." Meena walked by just then. "Hey, Meena, what do you think of my new earrings?" Lilly called. Meena grinned and gave her two thumbs way up.

"So we're settled?" Newt asked.

"Totally. We are now officially dating." Lilly loved the sound of that. Newt did, too.

"Great. That's awesome!" They shared one more kiss before they walked to class hand in hand.

X-x-x-x-X

"Hey, Jessica," Meena said the next afternoon. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked.

"It's okay. Knock yourself out," Jessica said glumly.

Meena was going to try hard to be her friend. Maybe she could learn to like her. "So, you're alone now?" Meena asked, trying to be friendly.

Yeah, I guess so. But it was worth it." Jessica put her head on the table.

"Yeah, Newt's pretty great, huh? It's nice seeing him so happy, isn't it?" Meena said.

Jessica smiled. "Yeah. He's happy and I have a free conscience. Everything works out, mostly." For the first time in two weeks Jessica almost smiled. But just then, Stickler came over.

"Jessica, what's wrong? Did Newt dump you because he couldn't understand a word you were saying?" he snickered.

"Hey, Stickler, can I see your neck for a moment?" Meena asked. But Stickler was too smart for that.

"Don't even dare!"

"What are you going to do to stop me?" Meena said in her sassiest voice. Her fingers were already in tickling position.

Stickler tried to run away, but Meena's reflexes were faster. She started tickling him like crazy.

"Ha-okay! I'm-ha ha-sorry, alright?" Meena let go. Jessica laughed through her tears.

"So you still think this friendship thing could work out?" Meena asked. Jessica nodded.

And for the first time in a whole month, Jessica, Meena, Newt _and_ Lilly were perfectly happy.


End file.
